The Thief
by Andromeda Khun
Summary: A mysterious thief has matched the Chosen One's accomplishment-stealing successfully from Gringotts. Will this thief be able to escape...?


Author's Note

House: Eagles

Class: Care of Magical Creatures

Category: Standard

Prompt: [Creature] Baby niffler

Word Count: 1174

Bill Weasley paced in an empty bank vault, the smooth rock walls surrounding him. The echoes of his footsteps vibrated in the emptiness. Bill grimaced, creasing his scarred face. "Why am I here again?"

A short goblin named Plunrot drawled, "As you know, there was a… robbery in Gringotts. We want to keep this hushed up so people don't lose faith in us."

_Being robbed by the Boy Who Lived is okay, but a common thief is unacceptable, _Bill thought. "That still doesn't explain why you brought me here."

Plunrot raised an eyebrow and said, "Mr. Weasley, I was under the impression that you used to work for us. We merely thought you were capable enough to solve this case."

"I worked _with _the goblins. Why don't you just ask for an Auror? They have much more experience than I do." _And besides, _he thought, _I happen to be a partial werewolf, which the job market has made very clear. _Two years had passed since the Wizarding War, and he still hadn't been accepted into a job. Although Fleur said it wasn't a problem yet, Bill knew she worried about their financials.

The goblin continued, "Someone higher up, I believe his name was Griphook, wanted to give you a chance. Mr. Weasley, you know that goblins compensate very well. Perhaps a certain goblin wanted to give you a job?"  
Bill slowly shook his head. _I'll never understand goblins._

Then he began pacing again and asked, "What happened here exactly?"

"I walked into this vault on the morning of May the fifth. It was completely empty, although the ledgers claimed it had two hundred Galleons. I immediately ran to raise the alarm, but no thief was found."

"Has anyone cast any magic here?"

Plunrot said dryly, "Of course. We hired a wizard-detective to cast some spells, but he didn't find anything. Then we decided to give you a chance, and if you fail, he will solve the case and get the reward."

_Thanks. No pressure or anything. _Bill studied the cave closely, then mused, "Is there anything special about this vault in particular?"

"No. It is an ordinary bank vault, and only held Galleons."

"Has this ever happened before?"

Shooting him a look of outrage, the goblin hissed, "Just cast your spells, Mr. Weasley." But, as Plunrot left, he turned and muttered, "It happened again this morning. No traces of anything."

Drawing his wand, Bill cast detection spells, charms and any magic he could think of. After a half an hour, he sat heavily on the ground. Then, almost on a whim, he cast an obscure hair detection charm. He started. The spell found a single tuft of short, thick, pink hair.

_Let's see. So the only evidence I have is a pink hair that could be from the owner of the bank vault. And the suspect could be literally anyone in Wizarding Britain. _He sighed. _I suppose I should check the other vault._

Bill fixed a confident expression on his face and called for Plunrot to take him to the other vault. The goblin complied, and they rode in the minecart for two seconds.

The other robbed bank vault was directly next to the first, and looked identical. When Bill asked his questions, Plunrot informed him that this bank vault also held Galleons, was completely ordinary, and no spells had revealed anything. Carefully, Bill stepped into the vault, and after ten minutes of casting spells, found another two pink hairs. They were indistinguishable from the one found in the other vault.

Very suspicious.

Narrowing his eyes, Bill studied the hairs and noticed that they were extremely small and thick. More like animal fur than human hair. He stared at a wall blankly and tried to remember his Care of Magical Creatures classes. _Was there any creature that has short, coarse, pink fur_? _Wait. What if..._

"Plunrot," he cleared his throat, "What exactly is my time limit for this mission?"

"You have twenty-four hours," the goblin grumbled, "and no more."

Bill grinned. "That's more than enough." He winked, then Apparated away.

For a few short seconds, he felt a squeezing sensation, and then suddenly he was standing outside the Burrow. After knocking on the door, he immediately asked for George.

His younger brother, now a young man, seemed slightly sad, as always. However, he soon became confused as Bill asked, "Do Nifflers shed a lot?"

George furrowed his brow. "Nifflers? Are you thinking about getting one for Fleur? I wouldn't really recommend it."

"Just humor me. Do they shed a lot?"

"Well, yes." George regained some of his old playfulness and elbowed Bill. "What exactly is going on, Bill? C'mon, you can tell me."

Smiling, Bill waved goodbye, promising to tell George about it later. Then he Apparated back to the Gringotts entrance.

* * *

After being admitted back into Gringotts, Bill strode confidently into a minecart. He met Plunrot again back at the first robbed vault, and declared, "I have your culprit."

Plunrot growled, "Really? So soon? Well, never mind. Show me the wizard who did this, and I shall make him suffer."

"It's not that easy…" Bill walked back out of the vault, then took a deep breath. He searched the wall of the long tunnel, on the side next to the other robbed vault. And, fortunately, there were many sizable holes, cracks, and crannies in the walls. The goblin stared at him quizzically, but did not stop him. Drawing his wand, Bill cried, "Niffler Revelio!"

Immediately, the spell informed him that there was a Niffler in a large hole in the wall. He felt overwhelming triumph and a thrill as though he were curse-breaking. Grinning, Bill cast, "Accio Niffler."

One tiny, pink furred Niffler zoomed into Bill's hand. It flailed its little legs for a moment, then turned over and licked Bill's finger. Bill could have sworn he'd seen the Niffler smile.

He picked up the Niffler by the scruff of its neck and held it in front of Plunrot. "Here's your thief." Then he cast another Accio, pulling a fortune of Galleons out of the hole. "And here is your gold."

"W-what?!" The goblin sputtered, "A pest did this? A _rodent?_"

"Yep. It probably got into Gringotts with a client, and then escaped. Judging by its pink color, it was a Weasley product. Also, if you look at its age, you can tell it hasn't been here too long."

"How did it manage to get through the door?"

"Well, it is a small baby, so it could probably fit through the keyhole." Bill said, "Now, about that reward…"

Plunrot said reluctantly, "Yes, yes. You will be duly paid for your work, Mr. Weasley."

"One more thing: can I take the baby Niffler? I think it might be quite useful if properly trained."

"Of course. As long as you take it out of Gringotts, Mr., no, Detective Weasley."

_Detective Weasley? I like the sound of that…_ Bill thought, _This job was actually fun, and it pays well. Perhaps it's time for a career change._


End file.
